This week in The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/ April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Is Customer Service Declining Exponentially?The decline of the quality of customer service has become such a trite, tired topic that it is almost unworthy of the time to write about it.
The Road to Peaceful Victory
Kuching, Malaysian Borneo – It is incomprehensible to understand why someone would strap a bomb to their body and blow themselves to bits in the name of a religion and a god. It is also incomprehensible why someone would burn a religious book in Florida knowing it could endanger the lives of their countrymen overseas. They are the same people, just different places.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Mubarak’s Real CrimeA Cairo judge ordered the removal of Hosni Mubarak’s name and signs from all public places, including privately owned stores. Pharaoh Tutankhamun underwent the same treatment; he was murdered to boot, not unlike Anwar Sadat.
Sour Grapes and No Sugar
Attempts to entice the residents of Frederick County to change our form of government have failed to move voters at least four separate times in the last 45 years.
Onward and Upward – Another 5 Years
Finally, the long-expected letter arrived. The chairman of the Maryland Senate Executive Nominations Committee wrote that I will be reappointed to a second five-year term on the Board of Trustees at Frederick Community College. Gov. Martin O’Malley will be ratifying the appointment soon.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Secession: Frederick’s Burning QuestionThis coming weekend marks the 150th anniversary of a Special Session of the Maryland General Assembly. Events of 1861 presaged the great and climactic war that was to come, the war for the very heart and soul of our young nation.
Bye-Bye Glenn Beck
My conspiracy theory includes billionaire manipulator George Soros holding a knife to the throat of FoxNews management’s throats; Glenn Beck has got to go, or else!
On Donald Trump
I, for one, am eager to see Donald Trump run for president. He will be fodder for the nation’s comedians, and a great sporting match for the rest of us to watch.
Friday, April 22, 2011
William Donald SchaeferIn the first place, when Don Schaefer decided to abandon Baltimore City Hall to run for the State House in Annapolis, in 1986, my Frederick News-Post column opposed him.
When The Supreme Court Dismantled Democracy
The most recent General Assembly session in Annapolis demonstrates why democracy holds very little in the way of checks and balances.
A Waste of Time and Money
Last Sunday afternoon I walked by Baker Park. Ellis Burruss was standing there in all his glory trying to obtain signatures for his petition drive. I considered going over and having a chat with him, but I wasn’t sure I could be nice, so I refrained.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Life’s Luxury: A Boss Who CaresWell, Annapolis closed the books on yet another legislative session. But the work doesn’t stop there for Del. Kelly Schulz (R., Frederick 4-A). She won her election last November and dove in fearlessly.
Sleep Solutions Abound for Controllers
There are people out there who enjoy flying; and then there are those people who see air travel as a means to an end. Not end, as in plane crash; but end, as in destination.
Puzzling Decision Amid Undue Influence
I have been more than a casual observer of the recent actions of the Frederick County Ethics Commission concerning Commissioner Kirby Delauter.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Financial Stink Bomb ExplodesOn Monday, the U.S. stock market went into a 1.1 percent slide after it was announced early in the day that Standard & Poor’s fired a warning shot across our nation’s fiscal bow and downgraded its outlook on U.S. sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative.”
Getting What We Ask For
Frederick County voters got what they asked for in a school board in November and a new Frederick County School Public Schools (FCPS) superintendant last week. The budget is no better off and North Frederick Elementary School still leaks.
The Vagaries of Getting Older
Kuching, Malaysian Borneo – I guess age is a state of mind. One can be old at 25 and young at 60. I hope I am the later. But, I try and tell my body that I am 25 and it just does not want to cooperate.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Charter, PleaseThe county legislation delegation breakfasted with the Chamber of Commerce last week. The main dish was charter.
Unintended Consequences Abound – Again
The current Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion – commonly known as the decision affecting the actions of Frederick County Commissioner Kirby Delauter – is not only the worst of “behind closed doors” bureaucratic actions, but negatively affects every resident of Frederick County!
An Ill-Lustrious Future for Frederick's Golden Mile?
While the value of gold has been soaring the last several years, the commercial real estate values of Frederick’s Golden Mile continue to plunge. Much has changed since the early 1990s when the west end of Frederick City was touted as the county's retail hub.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Lowered expectations and shredded paperIt ends in a shower of confetti. The 2011 Maryland General Assembly came to a close last Monday, the gavel drop at midnight concluding 90 days of debate and posturing.
The “Millionaires Paradox” Speech
The President of the United States of America was 20 minutes late to his after lunch speech at prestigious George Washington University last Wednesday. His audience, many of them sons and daughters of New York City millionaires, got to hear their parents very publicly disrespected.
A Step in the Right Direction
On Saturday, our family had the great good fortune to participate in the Grand Opening of the Brunswick Public Library.
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